Conservation of plant biodiversityfor sustainable diets

Kate Gold, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UKRory McBurney, University of Kent at Canterbury, Kent, UK

Bioversity Sub-Saharan AfricaMonica Ouma, TATRO Women’s Group, Yala, Siaya Province, Kenya

Importance of Agricultural Biodiversity

Dimensions ofAgriculturalBiodiversity

• Genetic resources for foodand agriculture: including…wild plants harvested and managed for food…

• Components of biodiversitythat support ecosystemservices

• Abiotic factors• Socio-economic and cultural

dimensions includes…traditional and local knowledge of agricultural biodiversity…

CBD decision V/5

• the source of all our food, and dietary diversity

• mostly held and managed by farmers

• under threat from changes in land use, over harvesting, climate change, “westernization” of diets, loss of local knowledge…

The importance of dietary diversity

• Ensures dietary adequacy

• Increases food security

• Reduces the intake of toxicants

• Protects against chronic diseases

TATRO Women’s Group Case Study• 3 species recently lost from

their food system• Aframomum angustifolium K.

Schum.• Tristemma mauritianum

J.F.Gmel.• Rubus apetalus Poir.

• An additional 50 species and their use were only known by the oldest members of the group

• TATRO have implemented a seed and knowledge conservation program

Protecting food plant biodiversity• “counter the loss of diversity in human diets, and in

ecosystems, by conserving and promoting …biodiversity for food and nutrition” (cross-cutting initiative, operational objective 3)

• insurance policy• Readily available source of material for research,

re-introduction…

The Millennium Seed Bank

The largest wild plant seed bank in the world

• 120 partners/ collaborators in >50countries;• 28,000 species duplicated in the MSB;• Up to 3,318 species with food use;• >5200 seed collections distributed for research

Enabling use

Turning seeds into plants: the development of germination protocols

• >14,000 germination tests carried out each year. For most species the methods are new.

• All germination protocols available on Kew’s website

http://www.kew.org./data/sid

Enabling use

Project MGU - the Useful Plants Project• Working with 12 communities in 5 countries to provide seeds, plants and propagation protocols. • Participatingcommunities in Tharaka, Kenya have prioritised 76 food plants.

Enabling Use

Improving the identification, handling and storage of ‘difficult’ seeds

• Regional training workshops in seed handling and conservation• Dissemination of seed biology information on 160 food species with ‘difficult’ seeds.

Biocultural Evolution of Food

Adaptation Codes

Plants

People

DNA

Tradition

States

Past Present Result

Strategies

Physiology

Behaviour

Phyto- chemistry

Nutrition eaten

Maize

The biocultural disadvantage with maize in Africa

The biocultural advantage in Mexico

↑ pH, CaCO3MgCO3, H20

↓ pellagra↓ anaemia↑ Q protein

Maize↑ Niacin↓ Phytate↑ Protein

H20 → pellagra→ anaemia→ Q protein

Maize→ Niacin→ Phytate→ Protein

Conclusions

• Agricultural Biodiversity is essential for dietary diversity

• They are both being lost

• Seed banking can complement community based efforts

• Traditional Knowledge plays a vital role